I was seriously planning a Disney cruise this year for 2018 but when the Autumn schedule was released the cruise I wanted, South Med wasn't listed. So I am going to wait for the 2019 schedule and hopefully it will be listed.

The 4 options I looked into were

1.Booking with my local travel agent2.Booking direct through Disney cruise website3.Booking with an Irish Disney specialist travel agent4.Booking with an American Disney specialist travel agent

Option 1 and 2 would both be basically the same thing. When I talked to my local travel agent, they said they would be using the exact same booking system as I would at home. Any booking options available to them would be available to me at home.

Option 3 turned out not to be a viable option. They would basically be the same as my local travel agent

I decided that I would book through an American Disney Specialist travel agent for a few reason.

4. Dreams Unlimited give onboard credit to everyone who books a cruise with them. This is a sliding up scale of the % of your total cruise cost. For me, it would have worked out at $100. This means that I would be in credit by $100 on my onboard account. As far as I could research no other travel agency does this.

Do they collect & drop off luggage - from home to Dover & return- (our agent has organised this for previous cruise holidays with Princess)

This I am not sure about, you would have to ask

I found out a ton of info by picking a similar cruise in 2017 and getting a free quote from Dreams Unlimited. You send an email to the general email address and a person responded to me in less than 24 hours. Once you have a person assigned to you, you can then email them with questions.

Useful Info I found Out1. Disney cruises are like flights. The earlier you book, ie the more in advance, the cheaper the price2. Disney cruise line opens booking approx 18 months before departure dates. For example, the Autumn 2018 . . bookings September to December opened in April 20173.Bookings Open on a sliding scalePlatinum Level - people who have been on 10 or more cruise get to book firstGold Level- people who have been on 5 cruises get to book the day after PlatinumSilver Level- people who have been on 1 to 4 cruises get to book the day after GoldNew Cruisers / general booking the day after gold level4.Some meals or excursions or onboard extras may be fully booked before general booking opens5.Research the ports and port excursions yourself. It is often far far cheaper to go DIY at ports than to just just book Disney excursions6.Be aware though, that if you do DIY excursions, the ship wont wait for you. 7. Disney cruises operate on a cashless system. Things such as shopping, excursions, tips, onboard experiences such as spa treatments, bar tabs etc etc are all charged to your onboard account

I have a ton of other general info, but I would defiantly recommend joining DISBOARDS and researching on the cruise section. You will find people who have been on this itinerary and some very experienced Disney cruisers who will help you.

There is also a ton of people on Disboards who have just been on the British Isles Cruise which also went from and returned to Dover. They will be able to give you lots of advice about the port and transfer options

thanks for the reply, you have given me lots of info to get started with. I will certainly look at the dreamsunlimited website and the messageboard.

This was a sudden decision to think about a Disney cruise, I initially thought it would be good to go on the cruise for my 60th birthday in 2020, but after watching many youtube videos of the cruise line I couldn't wait that long.I'm all set to go for the booking for next year but I'm still waiting for a reply from my son & daughter in law if they want to do it, it was only yesterday I asked but how long does it take to say YES. I always take them on holiday with me, especially since I'm on my own now and don't have the nerve to travel alone, so they better hurry up and decide especially as you mentioned the earlier booked the better the price.

Finally booked the cruise, not our original choice of the Norwegian Fjords, instead we booked the 7 nights Mediterranean from Barcelona in May 2018, deck 5 category 5c. Can't wait but at least i've got DLP in November to look forward to before our first of hopefully many Disny cruises..

Finally booked the cruise, not our original choice of the Norwegian Fjords, instead we booked the 7 nights Mediterranean from Barcelona in May 2018, deck 5 category 5c. Can't wait but at least i've got DLP in November to look forward to before our first of hopefully many Disny cruises..

oh wow, thats great, thats the one I wanted to do, but they switched the itineraries for 2018 and are doing the Med first instead of in September. Who did you end up booking with, Disney direct or with a travel agent?

We checked the prices for 3 different cruises from the official online site Disney Cruise Line, then asked our agent to price same; each time he came in a few hundred pounds cheaper for 2 x staterooms, I then asked dreamsunlimited and their price came very close to our agent, but as dreamsunlimited priced in $ and the currency rate against us we decided it was best to book through our local travel agent.

I'm going to have to start getting myself in shape for all the walking I'l be doing on trips around Italy.